tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5382599621647534281.post6108994909543937766..comments2019-03-21T03:59:13.541-04:00Comments on polis: Happy Fifty Years, Gentrification!petersigristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01653915776728182869noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5382599621647534281.post-22601213484996086532014-03-14T15:26:01.558-04:002014-03-14T15:26:01.558-04:00Gracias, Francisco! Luce buenísimo. Nos comunicamo...Gracias, Francisco! Luce buenísimo. Nos comunicamos. javier arbonahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13881565768188391513noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5382599621647534281.post-62394445370370502682014-03-13T15:00:22.892-04:002014-03-13T15:00:22.892-04:00Javier, gracias por este artículo tan necesario. T...Javier, gracias por este artículo tan necesario. Te envío uno que escribí sobre ejes muy parecidos en torno a San Juan y sus políticas públicas urbanas (en español), publicado también hace un par de semanas: http://www.elvarapalo.com/zigzag/mapas-en-blanco-de-la-urbe-puerto-rico.htmlFrancisco Carrillohttp://www.elvarapalo.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5382599621647534281.post-33993837890780546142014-02-19T13:43:35.891-05:002014-02-19T13:43:35.891-05:00Randy, thanks for your comment and for the links b...Randy, thanks for your comment and for the links below. <br /><br />To be clear, I do believe that cities change and that they *should* change. Much of the built environment we are left with after rapacious development is utter crap. But what I am writing about, I hope, raises the question of who makes these changes; who is the change for; who can speak for those changes and who answers for changes that cause poverty, displacement and even death (-- a documented phenomenon where folks suffer deadly ills under the duress of eviction).javier arbonahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13881565768188391513noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5382599621647534281.post-42532814795615954462014-02-18T21:13:33.209-05:002014-02-18T21:13:33.209-05:00One thing that always seems to be implied in stori...One thing that always seems to be implied in stories or discussions about gentrification is that neighborhoods shouldn&#39;t change. But the reality is that cities and their neighborhoods have a long history of constant change. This is what cities do. They evolve and change.<br /><br />I understand the points about the colloquial use of the word, but I think it is damaging overall to try to prevent our cities from changing. It is bad when we try to prevent wealthier people from moving into poorer neighborhoods, and it is bad when we try to prevent poorer people from moving into wealthier neighborhoods. Both exist. In one group we have the NIMBYs; in the other the people wielding the term gentrification in their defense.<br /><br />Perhaps you are right that mixing can occur without gentrification. This is something many people have been trying to figure out for decades. But with the way the free market works in the U.S. and the rest of the western world, it has proved to be very difficult to stop.Randy Simeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14272257274373604807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5382599621647534281.post-62072479215001578942014-02-18T21:06:27.762-05:002014-02-18T21:06:27.762-05:00We have been engaging in this very debate in Cinci...We have been engaging in this very debate in Cincinnati, based on the study from the Cleveland Federal Reserve. The original story published on it can be found here: http://www.urbancincy.com/2013/12/gentrification-occurring-in-more-cincinnati-neighborhoods-than-just-those-in-center-city/.<br /><br />Cincinnati&#39;s street newspaper, called Street Vibes, also published a story reacting to UrbanCincy&#39;s original report: http://streetvibes.wordpress.com/2014/01/10/a-closer-look-at-the-alleged-virtues-of-gentrification/.<br /><br />The important thing here is that we also spoke to a housing policy expert from the University of Cincinnati.Randy Simeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14272257274373604807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5382599621647534281.post-51535372372966942312014-02-18T01:42:52.153-05:002014-02-18T01:42:52.153-05:00Should have also mentioned in my previous comment ...Should have also mentioned in my previous comment that Rania Khalek&#39;s article was not the only countervailing piece of evidence against the reporting done by Sullivan or Davidson and that was mentioned in the piece (but you picked on it selectively). As you can see in my post, they rely selectively on Lance Freeman&#39;s work. On a quick review of Google Scholar, anyone can find at least one solid, direct rebuttal in the academic literature (Newman and Wyly). There are more if anyone cares to look further. Tom Slater wrote another. Vale is yet another that could be brought to bear. javier arbonahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13881565768188391513noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5382599621647534281.post-13011855328519547272014-02-18T01:18:43.499-05:002014-02-18T01:18:43.499-05:00Michael, when the word is used colloquially by mem...Michael, when the word is used colloquially by members of various communities, they use it fully knowing of the history of displacement and betting that it could happen to them in the same way. I don&#39;t see why that&#39;s confusing. In fact, it&#39;s entirely consistent. <br /><br />As far as Rania&#39;s article goes, you should consult Larry Vale&#39;s several books on housing to see that her reporting is not off the mark. I think you might be running a bit too far with that article. It&#39;s not a unique story. It was merely one recent example I picked and I wouldn&#39;t overplay it. I can find you others if you want.<br /><br />I agree with you that grays are common. You are looking for an operative takeaway but I&#39;m afraid you&#39;re demanding something of my piece that is not set out as part of the goal. My piece is about merely one word and where it came from. It might be something for another post to look at &quot;solutions.&quot; <br /><br />Who am I supposed to be giving a solution to? I&#39;m suspicious when some want &quot;solutions&quot; but they&#39;re afraid to name what exactly the problem is, or don&#39;t know and don&#39;t care to look. javier arbonahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13881565768188391513noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5382599621647534281.post-2456610933585626882014-02-17T17:06:17.699-05:002014-02-17T17:06:17.699-05:00I love going back to the root of the word: Invade...I love going back to the root of the word: Invaded. Displaced. Changed. But overall I&#39;m confused about the thrust of this article. In one sense Javier is using the definition to bring to light the forces of gentrification still pervasive, but also agreeing that &quot;we should adopt its colloquial usage&quot; wherever residents feel under attack. It&#39;s confusing. Is &quot;Invaded. Displaced. Changed&quot; our working definition or is just &quot;under attack&quot; the definition, even if not displaced which is Davidson&#39;s premise? <br /><br />I&#39;d also say the attack on the journalistic integrity of Davidson&#39;s and NPR&#39;s reports is not done a great service by the Rania Khalek&#39;s &quot;deeper&quot; article which relies way too much on anecdotal evidence and unsubstantiated correlations such as the rise of whites in a majority black neighborhood led to the installation of bike lanes there. Khalek was too lazy to see if any neighborhoods that got less white also got bike lanes or to try and correlate the path of bike lanes with crime rates in neighborhoods. <br /><br />Overall, this article is very useful for folks who want to think deeper about gentrification, but it&#39;s an issue where there is a lot of gray area, and solutions are hard to find. This article stirred around a muddy pool but didn&#39;t give me any operative takeaways. <br /><br />michael epsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13180403648530086577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5382599621647534281.post-38626451323138563542014-02-15T17:36:14.965-05:002014-02-15T17:36:14.965-05:00Javier has it right. Gentrification can be felt by...Javier has it right. Gentrification can be felt by those who feel the pressure of increased rents . Its worst than having a brother in law that makes much more money than you, its an affront to you status in life.A constant pressure. Policy makers should see blight as a type of &quot;urban creative destruction&quot; and should work with business to clean up the shit hole they have left behind, not just turn it over to yuppies. Often times blighted areas are used as the backdrop for TV crime news , in a part of town you don&#39;t want to live .Blight also means &#39;Failed Liberal Policies&#39; to many when in fact its the opposite . We could put a 1 percent sales tax on Big Box sales and use the money to revitalize the community without displacement. Big Box stores have some significant marketing advantages with bulk rate advertising and ample parking.<br />A semi-socialist approach of commercial rent control could base rents on a percent of retail sales , with the Big Box tax making up the difference.<br />Craig Williams Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5382599621647534281.post-54532925310406631232014-02-14T18:15:01.895-05:002014-02-14T18:15:01.895-05:00While meanings do change, &quot;gentrification&quo...While meanings do change, &quot;gentrification&quot; only gets more charged the more it is so lazily used (Arbona cites numerous recent examples). When people hear the word, they lock up as if instantly pitted on one side of an &quot;us vs. them&quot; totally eliminating the ability to talk about gray area.<br /><br />Cities change, in many different ways, but we need new words to talk about them or else we&#39;ll never find a way out of these damaging generalizations. Andrew G.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10095364546176043378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5382599621647534281.post-69016138624536259482014-02-14T08:53:20.686-05:002014-02-14T08:53:20.686-05:00Yes, it&#39;s important not to forget the meaning ...Yes, it&#39;s important not to forget the meaning of the word, but words change all the time, it&#39;s only bad when it has a negative effect on people who are just trying to do the right thing and get by. It would be good to see a comparison of gentrification&#39;s effects in different places, taking into account the difference in average rents or property values before and after the basic turning point. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5382599621647534281.post-21920446047505561582014-02-14T08:46:26.787-05:002014-02-14T08:46:26.787-05:00It&#39;s refreshing to see someone telling it like...It&#39;s refreshing to see someone telling it like it is. Thank you! Sashanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5382599621647534281.post-55054272177303267052014-02-14T08:26:52.376-05:002014-02-14T08:26:52.376-05:00right on point. never thought about what gentry re...right on point. never thought about what gentry really means. &quot;In the history of literature and art, the gentry hoard property and privilege as much as they can, yet they obsess over their manners and style in order to disguise their rapacity.&quot; maybe not consciously, because the rapacity is usually just invisible, ignored or commended as success. in other words, it can be done even in the course of living a good virtuous life. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com